Goodbye Gibson: Storied amphitheatre closes its doors

After 40 years and thousands of shows, the Gibson Amphitheatre went quiet Friday night at the end of one last sold-out concert.

Fans and employees of the venerable theater have known it was closing since April, when Universal Studios announced it was not renewing the lease held by concert promotion company Live Nation to pave the way for a new Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction as part of the theme park’s $1.6 billion expansion. Still, the final performance was a difficult moment for many at the show.

“It’s not going to hit me until I get in my car,” said Maria Ochoa, who has been an usher for 21 years. “I started when I was 19. (Latin singer) Lucia Mendez was my very first show on March 7, 1991. After a while you start to enjoy every show, even if you don’t know the music because of the people, the interaction with the show.”

Ochoa said she thinks it’s time for her to retire too. She also voiced a sentiment echoed by many music fans at the event.

“What a shame that it’s closing,” she said. “People try to compare it to other theaters like the Nokia, but no. There isn’t another venue like this, the sound, the closeness. It’s a great loss.”

Ranchero singer-songwriter Pepe Aguilar closed the theater with a two-night stand Thursday and Friday, to a full house of enthusiastic fans.

It was perhaps a fitting end to the storied Gibson, called the Universal Amphitheatre when it opened in 1972. The venue played host to legends like Elton John, Madonna, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. It hosted comedy shows by headliners like Steve Martin and George Lopez. The very first MTV Video Music Awards took place there, along with hundreds of movie premieres. Even Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have been keynote speakers in the intimate 6,100-seat theater.

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In recent years, the theater’s annual roster has been filled increasingly with Latino artists, building a fan base with the growing Hispanic population in Los Angeles.

“I feel honored and I feel sad,” Aguilar said in an interview before the show. “It’s a great responsibility, yes, because we are Hispanic and the type of music we do is, you could say, hard-core Mexican, so it’s very significant. It’s pretty cool, but it’s sad.”

Aguilar, who has performed at the venue many times, met with staff members of the theater before the show. He said he was brought to tears by an usher who told him how much she’d enjoyed his shows over the years.

“I love doing the shows here, I’ve had a blast,” he said. “That was quite an emotional moment.”

Aguilar isn’t the only performer to feel the pull of the Gibson.

General Manager Rick Merrill recalled a show comedian George Lopez did at the venue on Sept. 1, knowing that it would be his last time on that stage.

“When he was done with the show, he got down and kissed the floor,” Merrill recalled. “Who does that? Who kisses the wood floor of a stage unless that place really means something to you.”

Merrill said there were many tears shed at the last pre-show staff meetings Friday.

“Working here is a labor of love for most people,” he said. “Most are part-timers, have other jobs and do this because they love being here. It’s a family.”

Indeed, many staff members working the last show, from ushers to bartenders, had spent more than 20 years at the venue.

Fans of the venue, which was initially an open-air amphitheater before it was enclosed in 1982, say it’s more than just memories that make the shutdown disappointing.

Concertgoer Andres Duenas said the location, combined with the design of the theater, made it a special place for him. He’s seen close to 50 shows at the Gibson, from rock band Scorpion to pop idol Rick Springfield and Latino music star Vicente Fernandez, and said it’s the acoustics and design that kept him coming back.

“It’s a bummer because I think it’s the best sounding theater in L.A.,” he said. “Everything hugs the stage. Even if you’re in the mezzanine or near the back, you can hear everything. It has the best acoustics. And it’s perfectly situated.”

He also questioned the venue’s replacement.

“I’m sure they got the calculators out and figured that the (Harry Potter) ride could make more money, but it’s still sad.”

Many of the fans and staff remembered their very first show at the Gibson, for many, their first concert.

“I came here in 1981 to see Neil Young,” remembered Rudy Liscano, who drove from Chino for the Aguilar concert. “My friend was supposed to go, but couldn’t, and so I got the ticket. I was 18 years old and we were so close to the stage. It was just the best.”

NBCUniversal plans to break ground on the new attraction soon. A timeline for the physical demolition of the theater and the ride’s completion isn’t ready just yet, according to a company spokeswoman.

“It’s too early to give exact timing on the length of construction. We will commit to a completion date once the project is underway and we better assess its rate of progression,” said spokeswoman Audrey Eig in an email.

Live Nation negotiated a deal with Universal that ended its lease a year early. The company has moved all of the acts that were scheduled at the venue beyond Friday’s concert to other facilities in Los Angeles, including the Dolby Theatre.

Perhaps one of the longest-serving members of the Gibson Amphitheatre family, Emily Simonitsch started her tenure as a marketing assistant for Universal Studios. Eventually, she moved over to the then-Universal Amphitheatre and eventually Live Nation, where she became a senior vice president who booked many of the thousands of shows the venue hosted over the years.

Simonitsch is known for personally greeting the many stars she’s signed on to play, and escorting them out at the end of the evening.

True to form, Simonitsch, who will continue on with Live Nation, was busy before the Aguilar show coordinating a meet-and-greet with fans of the star and checking in with staff.

In an interview the day before, Simonitsch noted the special place the theater holds for herself, fans and artists alike.

“In the last few weeks, ex-employees have called and come by just to see it again,” she said. “I knew it was a special place for me, but you don’t know how a building touches other people like that. That has been really touching and eye opening. It really speaks to what a special place it’s been. I love those moments.”